Hot Topics:

Vatican acknowledges that pope had pacemaker

The Associated Press

Posted:
02/12/2013 07:36:47 AM EST

Click photo to enlarge

FILE - This June 30, 2010 file photo shows Pope Benedict XVI blessing faithful as he leaves St. Peter's square at the Vatican at the end of his weekly general audience. Benedict XVI always cast himself as the reluctant pope, a shy bookworm who preferred solitary walks in the Alps to the public glare and the majesty of Vatican pageantry. But once in office, he never shied from charting the Catholic Church on the course he thought it needed a determination reflected in his stunning announcement Monday, Feb. 11, 2013, that he would be the first pope to resign since 1415.